When working with families or groups, how should confidentiality be handled?

• A. Share information with all group members to promote openness.
• B. Explain limits of confidentiality in group settings and share information only with appropriate consent.
• C. Never share information with any member.
• D. Disclose information automatically to all group members.

Answer: (B)

In group or family work, confidentiality is explained up front and is not absolute. The best approach is to outline the limits of confidentiality at the start and to share information only with appropriate consent. This means you tell participants what will be kept private, what may be shared, and with whom (and for what purpose), and you obtain explicit consent before sharing outside the group. This approach helps build trust, protects privacy, and still allows for safety and coordination of care. There are legitimate exceptions, such as when there is a risk of harm or when mandated reporting applies; in those cases you follow legal and ethical requirements. Sharing with everyone or never sharing without consent would either violate privacy or impede support, and disclosing information automatically to all group members ignores participants’ rights to control their own information.